Move The Ladder Over Before You Climb Up It!

I hadn't heard this expression until last year. I was reminding my class about plotting points on a coordinate grid. You have to go over (on the x axis ) and then go up (the y-axis). I can't begin to count how many times over the years that students have become confused and plotted points backwards thus messing up their graphs.

One of the bright young scholars contributed what his older brother had told him. He said "You have to move the ladder over before you climb up it!" I don't know where his brother had heard it, but he's right. I now refer to the illustration of needing to take down something like the clock high up on the classroom wall. The ladder is by the door. It would be ridiculous to climb the ladder and then have it moved over to where you need to use it. First, you move the ladder, then climb up it to reach the clock.

So when students are plotting coordinate points, I just call out "You have to move the ladder over before you can climb up it!" and graphs come out the way they should.